Cities of France

France begins in Paris – but it does not end there.

As soon as a curious traveler gets out of the city, all the treasures of the Ile-de-France region will be at his disposal: this is the predecessor of Versailles, the elegant Vaux-le-Vicomte, as if it came down from the pages of Dumas’s novels, and the Renaissance castle of Fontainebleau surrounded by the famous forest, and, finally, the brilliant Versailles itself, which everyone who has heard anything about France knows about.

The Ile-de-France is famous not only for its history and architecture: many shopping centers are located not in Paris itself, but nearby – so shopping in this region can be both interesting and profitable at the same time. There is also no shortage of entertainment for families – the only Disneyland in Europe will not leave indifferent either children or adults.

To the north of Paris, there is a direct competitor to Disneyland – Parc Asterix. The French themselves prefer to have fun there, while foreigners crowd into Disneyland.

To the west of the Ile de France are world-famous castles: Amboise and Blois, without which the history of France is unthinkable, Chenonceau, for which Diane de Poitiers fought with Catherine de Medici, ancient Orleans and gloomy Chinon, whose fates are closely intertwined with the fate of Joan of Arc, impeccable Yousse, which became the prototype for the castle of Sleeping Beauty. And the small but strikingly beautiful Clos Lucé, where Leonardo da Vinci lived his last years.

Even further west, where the French coast is washed by the highest tides in Europe, stands Mount Saint-Michel with its monastery of the same name, a true wonder of the world, a witness to centuries of asceticism and man’s struggle against harsh nature embodied in stone. To the north of the mountain, Normandy stretches as far as Calais, with its famous fields, cows and apple orchards – as well as Rouen Cathedral, widely known for Monet’s paintings, a tapestry from Bayeux, in drawings telling about the conquest of England by William the Conqueror, and a young but already very famous museum dedicated to the Allied landings in 1944.

To the south of Mont Saint-Michel lies fog-shrouded Brittany, with its Celtic roots, mystical legends, and secret dream of independence. The ancient forest of Broceliand, glorified in the ballads of King Arthur, rows of Neolithic menhirs and rocky cozy bays have long attracted poets and romantics from all over the world, and the well-maintained beaches of Quibron and balneological resorts – those who want to relax and improve their health.

The southern borders of Brittany are guarded by ancient Nantes, once the capital of the Duchy of Brittany and now the Loire region. A powerful castle remains as a reminder of the times of Anne of Brittany, openwork lattices of balconies and plane tree alleys remind of Paris, but the signature “Nantes mixture” of salt air, cries of seagulls and a port filled with life cannot be confused with anything else. It is the same as in the days of Jules Verne, a local native and great patriot of the city.

To the south, the Gulf of Aquitaine bends in a wide arc. This land has always had a special destiny: in ancient times, the locals differed in blood and culture from the surrounding Celts, in the early Middle Ages the country was conquered by the Goths, then the Arabs marched through Aquitaine until they were defeated at the Battle of Poitiers. During the Hundred Years’ War, this land belonged to England: there is still something elusively English about Bordeaux, Victor Hugo’s favorite city and one of the most beautiful cities in France.

Traces of English influence have also been preserved in Perigord, a former part of Aquitaine. It is called the “land of a thousand castles,” and this is not an exaggeration – in fact, there are 1001 of them! In addition to castles, the region is interesting for the picturesque Dordogne River Valley, the medieval cities of Bergerac, Sarla la Caneda, and the Cro-Magnon Cave with rock paintings.

The northern part of historical Aquitaine, the Poitou region, is known to everyone who has ever watched Fort Boyard – the home of the elder Faure is located there. So is the equally famous fortress of La Rochelle, the “heroine” of Alexandre Dumas’ novel. A little further from the ocean, there are two world-class amusement parks: “Puy du Fou, which is mainly dedicated to French history, and Futuroscope, a place where the present and the future are intertwined.

South Aquitaine is the aristocratic Biarritz, once a favorite resort of the royal family and now popular with surfers, its eternal rival Arcachon with its luxurious beaches, thalassotherapy centers and famous oysters, red, white and green Basque flags on the streets of freedom-loving Bayonne, the “southern capital” of French corsairs.

Between the Pyrenees and the Central Massif lies the ancient Languedoc with the largest fortress in Europe – Carcassonne, medieval Albi with a unique pink stone cathedral and Toulouse – the world’s “Capital of Violets”.

Further east is Provence, with its capital Marseille, a land of lavender fields, Roman amphitheaters and aqueducts, as well as luxury hotels and beaches in Nice.

The Provencal aqueduct of Pont du Gard is so famous that it became the prototype of the image on the 5 EUR banknote.

North of Provence is the Rhône-Alpes region, a winter “pilgrimage” destination for skiers from all over the world. Lovers of antiquity visit the region for the architecture of Lyon, Grenoble and Annecy.

Burgundy lies between the Alps and the Ile-de-France, and its capital, Dijon, once rivaled Paris. Now it is a sparsely populated region with nature reserves, ancient cities and monasteries of the Romanesque era.

Neighboring Auvergne is already competing with Burgundy in our time with the purity of its rivers and the greenness of its virgin forests. It is also home to Europe’s largest array of extinct volcanoes and an amusement park dedicated to them, as well as the famous Clermont-Ferrand Cathedral, built of black volcanic tuff.

France is separated from Germany by a narrow strip of Alsace, a territory that has absorbed the best features of both cultures over the centuries. Half-timbered houses, cozy towns along the “wine road” and Christmas markets in Colmar and Strasbourg will not leave anyone indifferent.

Our short virtual tour of the country ends with Champagne, whose vineyards stretch from Flanders to Paris. In addition to the world-famous wine, the region is famous for the architectural monuments of Troyes and, of course, Reims Cathedral, a pearl of high Gothic and the place where French kings are coronated.